Ubisoft holiday sales take dive

Ubisoft's games brought in a record $231 million during the third quarter of 2004-2005, and the company is projecting sales of $273 million for the fourth quarter, company officials said in a report issued today. Yearly sales were up 10 percent over 2003.

Ubisoft owed those high numbers to brisk sales of its major titles: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within moved 1.9 million units in one month, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (Xbox) sold 1.4 million copies in seven weeks, and The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (PC) sold 220,000 units in five weeks in Germany alone.

In 2005/2006, Ubisoft hopes to exceed $744 million in sales--another 12 percent leap. Four titles are slated for release between now and March: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Cold Fear, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown. However, an Ubisoft spokesperson has confirmed that Far Cry Instincts, originally due out by March, will be delayed until the 2005 March-May quarter.

"Ubisoft is well on its way to meeting its fiscal-year objectives and can count on an excellent year in 2005/06. This proves that our unique assets, brands and studios, are generating significant growth and profitability," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said.